Hurt my Butt

[Joanne]

Hi
Whilst snowboarding a couple of months ago i fell on my left buttock and felt pain and a numbness, after this i rested for 4 weeks and felt loads better. On my next trip to my local snowdome I fell a few more times on the same place which left me with a left buttock 3 times the size of the right! I was unable to sit and had pain down the back of my left thigh. After a couple of days a bruise appeared at the back of my Knee. Again after a couple of weeks i had no pain and felt I could go back to a sport i love and again i have slighlty banged the same spot and the problem has flared up again, not as swollen but still as sore on my buttock and down my leg.
What do you think I have done?
Is it going to always be there preventing me from snowboarding in the future?
How can I help myself?

[Heidi]

Continually falling onto the same area will cause damage to the tissue where it is compressed against the bone. There is a close link betweent he hamstrings and buttocks and so the bruising near the knee isn't uncommon.

The best thing I think you can do is to visit a sports massage specialist who will be able to work on your buttock and hamstrings to help reduce swelling, clear any bruising and loosen the muscles.

have a look at this page about dead legs, it is the same principle:

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/frontthigh/deadleg.htm

I know nothing about snowboarding, but is there some kind of padding you can get so that when you fall the area has some protection?